What was your pandemic project? Some people learned to bake sourdough bread or took dancing classes online. A lot of unfinished sewing and woodworking projects came tumbling out of a lot of closets. My husband created a Great Books course for himself and figured out how to be his own barber.
I wrote a book.
I wrote a book.
* * * * *
It all started with the bright idea of pulling together into a single volume the posts I've made to this blog about Project Diana and my experiences growing in its shadow. The 75th anniversary of that historic event (and not coincidentally the 5th anniversary of this blog) took place on January 10, 2021. Such a book, I thought, was a unique contribution I could make to the celebration.
And what could be easier? I mean, the book was already written, right? All I had to do was rearrange my entries a little and write an intro.
How wrong I was!
Although many (though not all) of the essays started life as blog posts, they have been extensively revised and updated, and in some instances completely rethought. Organizing them by topic (something I actively resisted while blogging), and more or less chronologically within topic, has exposed a through-line that surprised even me.
Nearly half the book is devoted to the history of radar at Camp Evans, starting with its fumbling beginnings at Pearl Harbor and culminating in its stunning success in Project Diana - followed shortly by jobbing out much of its military research (in effect bowing out of the Cold War) in favor of another important application of radar, weather-tracking.
The second section is devoted to my father and his forebears, in an effort to hone in on what made him the right man for the job of scientific director for the project.
The last section dips into Jersey Shore life (the boardwalk, the Neptune Music Circus), contemporary American life (Sears, nylon stockings), and my own little-girl activities (my Toni doll, my parakeet Archie, my Islander ukulele).
I think even my most devoted blog followers will find this book a very different reading experience.
Interested? Here's how to order a copy:
Kindle (e-book) edition
Black and white edition
Full color edition
If you like what you read, please leave it a review on amazon.com - thanks!
And what could be easier? I mean, the book was already written, right? All I had to do was rearrange my entries a little and write an intro.
How wrong I was!
Although many (though not all) of the essays started life as blog posts, they have been extensively revised and updated, and in some instances completely rethought. Organizing them by topic (something I actively resisted while blogging), and more or less chronologically within topic, has exposed a through-line that surprised even me.
Nearly half the book is devoted to the history of radar at Camp Evans, starting with its fumbling beginnings at Pearl Harbor and culminating in its stunning success in Project Diana - followed shortly by jobbing out much of its military research (in effect bowing out of the Cold War) in favor of another important application of radar, weather-tracking.
The second section is devoted to my father and his forebears, in an effort to hone in on what made him the right man for the job of scientific director for the project.
The last section dips into Jersey Shore life (the boardwalk, the Neptune Music Circus), contemporary American life (Sears, nylon stockings), and my own little-girl activities (my Toni doll, my parakeet Archie, my Islander ukulele).
I think even my most devoted blog followers will find this book a very different reading experience.
Interested? Here's how to order a copy:
Kindle (e-book) edition
Black and white edition
Full color edition
If you like what you read, please leave it a review on amazon.com - thanks!
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